The Committee on Environmental Policy and Nature Management recommended that the Verkhovna Rada adopt the government draft law No. 6349 "On the improvement of the procedure for conducting an environmental audit" based on the committee's proposals, which was widely criticized by the public.
The document is designed to ensure a transparent mechanism for conducting eco-audits, the representative of the government in the Verkhovna Rada, Taras Melnychuk, reported on Telegram.
He added that the purpose of the draft law is to bring the norms of the Law "On environmental audit" into line with other laws.
It is worth noting that the document was widely criticized by the public, because it:
- duplicates a number of functions of the State Environmental Inspection;
- increases bureaucracy;
- expands the grounds for conducting a mandatory eco-audit, in particular for individual entrepreneurs.
The European Business Association emphasized that despite a number of positive changes, the document may lead to corruption risks and increase pressure on business. In addition, the draft law does not comply with European standards, because in the EU, eco-auditing allows businesses to gain competitive advantages, while Ukraine offers a punitive approach.
One may get the impression that the document is designed not so much to improve the eco-audit procedure as to create the appearance of fruitful European integration changes.
Earlier, EcoPolitic wrote, that the Ministry of Environmental Protection and Natural Resources has developed proposals for draft law No. 6349 "On improving the procedure for conducting environmental audits".
Previously, EcoPolitic analyzed draft law No. 6349 in order to assess what changes to expect.
